You Have Allergies And Asthma
Leaky gut syndrome is often the root cause of food allergies, which can be treated by improving the amount of beneficial bacteria in the gut. Clinical trials have found that probiotics can even reduce the severity of asthma symptoms, along with medication use. If you suffer from allergies or asthma, try taking probiotics to see if help reduce the severity of your symptoms.
Here Are 6 Probiotic Drinks That May Help Build Immunity:
1. Water Kefir
Water Kefir is a drink which is vegan, dairy-free and probiotic rolled into one. It is prepared by using water and kefir grains, which is left to ferment over a couple of days and thus may help build immunity too. Click here to learn how you can make it at home.
Water Kefir is loaded with good nutrition and immunity.
2. Kanji
Look no further than our humble Kanji for a wholesome drink loaded with good bacteria. The Kanji can be made in a number of ways, including this delicious Gajar Ki Kanji recipe here. It is considered excellent for digestive processes and also builds gut health and immunity.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar Tea
Apple cider vinegar is known to offer numerous health benefits, including weight loss and good digestion. This sweet apple cider vinegar tea comes loaded with good probiotics that strengthen the gut from within, and of course, the immune system too. Click here for the full recipe.
Apple cider vinegar is an excellent source of healthy probiotics.
4. Lassi
Yogurt is another wonderful ingredient which is considered a healthy and natural probiotic. Why not transform yogurt into a sweet and delicious lassi? Here are three ways you can make Lassi at home with seasonal fruits and minimal hassle.
Lassi is fruity, healthy and enriched with probiotic goodness.
5. Chaach
Probiotics And Vaginal Health
Probiotics may also be of use in maintaining urogenital health. Like the intestinal tract, the vagina is a finely balanced ecosystem. The dominant Lactobacilli strains normally make it too acidic for harmful microorganisms to survive. But the system can be thrown out of balance by a number of factors, including antibiotics, spermicides, and birth control pills. Probiotic treatment that restores the balance of microflora may be helpful for such common female urogenital problems as bacterial vaginosis, yeast infection, and urinary tract infection.
Many women eat yogurt or insert it into the vagina to treat recurring yeast infections, a “folk” remedy for which medical science offers limited support. Oral and vaginal administration of Lactobacilli may help in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis, although there isn’t enough evidence yet to recommend it over conventional approaches. Probiotic treatment of urinary tract infections is under study.
Probiotics are generally considered safe they’re already present in a normal digestive system although there’s a theoretical risk for people with impaired immune function. Be sure the ingredients are clearly marked on the label and familiar to you or your health provider. There’s no way to judge the safety of unidentified mixtures.
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The Lack Of Consistency In The Findings On Probiotics Comes In Part Because They Are Being Treated Like Conventional Drugs
This opens the door to developing personalised probiotic treatments based on someones genetic profile. Such a system is realistic and could be developed relatively soon, says Elinav, but at this stage it remains a proof of concept. To become a reality, it will need more research on probiotic tailoring and testing more bacterial strains in larger groups of people.
This kind of personalisation may release the full potential of probiotic treatments for gut health. At the moment, the lack of consistency in the findings on probiotics comes in part because they are being treated like conventional drugs. When you take a paracetamol tablet, you can be more or less sure that the active component will do its job and work on receptors in your brain, dulling your sensation of pain. This is because most peoples pain receptors are similar enough to react in the same way to the drug.
But the microbiome is not just a receptor it is closer to an ecosystem, and sometimes likened to a rainforest in its complexity.
As a result, finding and tailoring a probiotic treatment that will work on something as intricate and individual as your own internal ecosystem is no easy task. And with that in mind, its not so surprising that a dried-out pack of bacteria from a supermarket shelf may well not do the trick.
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Can Probiotics Be Harmful
- Probiotics have an extensive history of apparently safe use, particularly in healthy people. However, few studies have looked at the safety of probiotics in detail, so thereâs a lack of solid information on the frequency and severity of side effects.
- The risk of harmful effects from probiotics is greater in people with severe illnesses or compromised immune systems. When probiotics are being considered for high-risk individuals, such as premature infants or seriously ill hospital patients, the potential risks of probiotics should be carefully weighed against their benefits.
- Possible harmful effects of probiotics include infections, production of harmful substances by the probiotic microorganisms, and transfer of antibiotic resistance genes from probiotic microorganisms to other microorganisms in the digestive tract.
- Some probiotic products have been reported to contain microorganisms other than those listed on the label. In some instances, these contaminants may pose serious health risks.
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Will Taking Probiotics Really Make Me Poop
The majority of scientific research Harvard, Oxford, will all give you a general yes. Incorporating probiotics into your diet will likely have an effect on stool frequency and consistency.
But before we can explore the gritty details, well all need to stop snickering and take a moment to understand what probiotics are, why theyre of interest, what the potential side effects are, how to safely consume them, and what theyre doing to our bodies.
After that, you can let the puns fly.
What Are Prebiotics And Synbiotics
The prebiotic comes before and helps the probiotic, and then the two can combine to have a synergistic effect, known as synbiotics. A prebiotic is actually a nondigestible carbohydrate that acts as food for the probiotics and bacteria in your gut. The definition of the effect of prebiotics is the selective stimulation of growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of microbial genus/species in the gut microbiota that confer health benefits to the host. The health benefits have been suggested to include acting as a remedy for gastrointestinal complications such as enteritis, constipation, and irritable bowel disease prevention and treatment of various cancers decreasing allergic inflammation treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease , and fighting immune deficiency diseases. There has also been research showing that the dietary intake of particular food products with a prebiotic effect has been shown, especially in adolescents, but also tentatively in postmenopausal women, to increase calcium absorption as well as bone calcium accretion and bone mineral density. The benefits for obesity and type 2 diabetes are growing as recent data, both from experimental models and from human studies, have shown particular food products with prebiotics have influences on energy homeostasis, satiety regulation, and body weight gain.
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Sign 4 Better Response To Stress And Lower Anxiety
The link between the brain and the gut can also be seen in the bodys response tostress. Stress has been shown to harm our gut just as much as junk food.Likewise, one study found that having an intestinal infection is associated with anincreased risk of developing an anxiety disorder over the next two years.The absence of certain bacteria in our guts could alter areas in our brains that areinvolved in anxiety. Probiotics can therefore be helpful to establish, or reestablish,beneficial microorganisms in the gut, especially when there is a deficiency of goodbacteria, helping us to stave off stress and reduce anxiety.So pay attention to your ability to deal with stress after you start taking probioticsas an improvement in this area could be related to a healthy probiotic balance.
When Should I Take Probiotics
If you are constipated, probiotics could very well be the answer. By softening stool and helping break down food in the intestines, researchers have found that probiotics may improve whole gut transit time, stool frequency, and stool consistency.
Another good time for probiotics would be following a round of antibiotics. Not only do antibiotics kill bad bacteria, they also kill good bacteria, so eating probiotic rich foods following an antibiotic will help you replenish good bacteria.
However, if you suffer from lactose intolerance, probiotics may be off the table, as probiotics have been found much more likely to cause discomfort in that population.
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How Probiotics Influence Weight
Your digestive system is a busy factory of trillions of bacteria. Some of these bacteria are friendly, helping you digest food and absorb nutrientswhile others can be harmful. When your gut is functioning optimally, theres a healthy balance that helps good bacteria keep the bad ones in check.
If something throws this complex system out of balance, such as an illness, poor diet, stress, or medication, the bacteria in your gut can shift in the wrong direction.
Research shows that a change in the amount or type of bacteria in your gut can affect your health, and contribute to weight gain, increased fat storage, and sometimes make it harder to lose weight .
What Are The Different Types Of Probiotics
Probiotic supplements, foods, and beverages contain bacteria and/or yeasts. Up until the 1960s, the only gut microflora that they were able to identify were clostridia, lactobacilli, enterococci, and E. coli. Since then, innovative techniques have discovered many more bacteria.
There are several different kinds of probiotics, and their health benefits are determined by the job that they do in the gut. They must be identified by their genus, species, and probiotic strain level. Here is a list of probiotics and their possible health benefits.
1. Lactobacillus
There are more than 50 species of lactobacilli. They are naturally found in the digestive, urinary, and genital systems. Foods that are fermented, like yogurt, and dietary supplements also contain these bacteria. Lactobacillus has been used for treating and preventing a wide variety of diseases and conditions.
Some of the lactobacilli found in foods and supplements are Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. acidophilus DDS-1, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Lactobacillus plantarium, Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus salivarius, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus johnsonii, and Lactobacillus gasseri.
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Gut Microbes Regulate Your Happy Hormones
As we mentioned earlier, gut microbes transform some of the food you eat into short-chain fatty acids. These short-chain fatty acids communicate with the cells in your body that produce serotonin.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates your mood, happiness, and anxiety levels. Essentially, gut microbes can help your body make more serotonin.
Another neurotransmitter, called gamma-aminobutyric acid , regulates and improves your mood. GABA helps calm the nervous system and turn off stress reactions. Some probiotic gut bacteria can even directly produce GABA for your body.
Essentially, your diet can help your bodys bacteria protect your mental health because eating the right foods feeds happy bacteria. When your body has lots of healthy bacteria, your microbiome is more diverse, and your body produces more substances that increase your mood-lifting chemicals, such a GABA and serotonin.
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Probiotics Can Help Prevent And Treat Diarrhea
Probiotics are widely known for their ability to prevent diarrhea or reduce its severity.
Diarrhea is a common side effect of taking antibiotics. It occurs because antibiotics can negatively affect the balance of good and bad bacteria in the gut (
15 ).
A review of 15 human studies found supplementing with Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus strains for 12 months can improve anxiety, depression, autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder and memory .
One study followed 70 chemical workers for 6 weeks. Those who consumed 100 grams of probiotic yogurt per day or took a daily probiotic capsule experienced benefits for general health, depression, anxiety and stress .
Benefits were also seen in a study of 40 patients with depression.
Taking probiotic supplements for 8 weeks decreased depression levels and reduced levels of C-reactive protein and hormones such as insulin, compared to people who did not take a probiotic .
Bottom Line:
Research shows taking probiotics may help improve symptoms of mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, stress and memory, among others.
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Sign 5 Increased Energy
A good multi-strain probiotic helps you absorb the vitamins and nutrients from food,whereas the lack thereof leads to feeling like you are running on empty.A healthy gut flora also aids in the production of extra B vitamins, which areessential for energy production in the body.Abnormalities within the digestive system lead to unhealthy gut bacteria, causing your body to produce high levels of immune cells to fight off the toxins and leaving you feeling tired. Probiotics increase the numbers of healthy bacteria that live in the gut whiledecreasing the unhealthy bacteria, resulting in greater energy!
Probiotics May Ease Constipation
- By , Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter
Probiotics, and other cultured foods, have long been touted for their ability to ease digestive woes. Drug stores and supermarkets feature arrays of different probiotic supplements, often containing Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium, two of the most commonly used species of bacteria.
Perhaps the strongest evidence for probiotics is in treating diarrhea caused by a viral infection or from taking antibiotics. Both infection and antibiotics disrupt the natural balance of bacteria in your digestive system, which probiotics can help restore. But the opposite problem constipation is more common than diarrhea. It affects about 14% of adults and accounts for about 3.2 million medical visits in the United States each year. Americans nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars each year trying to unblock themselves.
Most over-the-counter remedies for constipation, such as laxatives and stool softeners, aren’t all that helpful. Nearly half of users aren’t satisfied with the results of such products, citing ineffectiveness or other issues.
Do probiotics work against constipation? Researchers at King’s College in London scoured the medical literature and found 14 studies that met their criteria for a well-done study. All were clinical trials that randomly assigned people with constipation to take either probiotics or a placebo .
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Conditions Related To Allergy
Allergic Rhinitis
- A review of 23 studies in which probiotics were tested for treating allergic rhinitis found some evidence that they may be helpful for improving symptoms and quality of life. However, because the studies tested different probiotics and measured different effects, no recommendations about the use of probiotics could be made. Few side effects of probiotics were reported in these studies.
Asthma
- A review of 11 studies of probiotics for asthma in children had inconclusive results.
Atopic Dermatitis
- Atopic dermatitis is an itchy chronic skin disorder thatâs associated with allergies but not caused by them. Itâs most common in infants and may start as early as age 2 to 6 months. Many people outgrow it by early adulthood. Atopic dermatitis is one of several types of eczema.
- A 2017 review of 13 studies of probiotics for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in infants and children did not find consistent evidence of a beneficial effect. A review of 9 studies in adults provided preliminary evidence that some strains of probiotics might be beneficial for symptoms of atopic dermatitis.
Prevention of Allergies
How Probiotics Can Help With Menopause Symptoms
MenoLabs News | Fri, Oct 15, 2021
A healthy balance of bacteria in your gut can positively impact all aspects of your health. Due to declining estrogen levels at peri/menopause, there may be several imbalances in your body. Maintaining good gut health is one way of lessening the effects of these hormonal imbalances.
What are Probiotics?
Probiotics are live microorganisms, such as bacteria and yeasts, that are beneficial for your health. They are particularly important for the health and efficacy of your gastrointestinal tract . Our bodies are full of bacteria, including both good and bad . Probiotics are considered good bacteria because they help keep your digestive tract healthy.
Types of Probiotics
Several types of bacteria can be classified as probiotics. However, the most common ones are:
- Lactobacillus
- Bifidobacterium
Probiotics also comprise beneficial yeast cells. Saccharomyces boulardii is the most common yeast found in probiotics.
What are Prebiotics and Why are They Important?
The probiotics in your gut, or gut microflora, need something to feed on. Non-digestible foods in your gut acts as a food source for prebiotics. Dietary sources of high-fiber foods include whole grains, onions, bananas, artichokes, greens, and soybeans.
The Benefits of Taking Probiotics During Peri/Menopause
Probiotics are known for helping to ward off infection and inflammation in your gastrointestinal tract . However, they perform several other interesting actions as well.
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Sign 7 Fewer Sugar Cravings
Some experts consider adding probiotics into the diet to be one of the best ways toreduce sugar cravings.A poor diet leads to less diversity of gut bacteria, and having an imbalance of bacteria in your gut, called dysbiosis, leads to cravings for sugary foods and drinks.Certain microbes in the gut prefer sugar, causing an increase in the number ofsweet receptors. Thus you crave and consume more sugary foods and drinks,thereby creating a snowball effect where you feed and create more sugar-lovingbacteria in the gut, causing more sugar cravings. Its a vicious cycle that can be broken by taking a high-quality probiotic, which increases the diversity and health of the gut, thereby reducing the influence of any one species of bacteria, say the sugar loving one, on the body.